BISMARCK, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Oliver County team took first place in the senior division and the Foster County team took first place in the junior division of the recent North Dakota State 4-H Dairy Judging Contest.

Members of the Oliver team were Reanna Schmidt, Brenna Vosberg, Jacob Klaudt, Wilton Henke, Caden Albers and Olivia Klein. Their coach was Rick Schmidt.

The Foster team member were Molly Hansen, Karlee Lesmann, Cyrena Kruss, Cally Hansen and Brekka Kuss. Their coach was Joel Lemer.

During the dairy contest, 4-H participants compete as a team and individually. They judge six classes of dairy cattle consisting of four cattle in each class.

In two of the six classes, the 4-H’ers must present orally their reasons for placing the classes in a particular order. The dairy cattle judgers meet one-on-one with an official, who listens to the reasons.

Oral reasons are evaluated on content, accuracy, emphasis, completeness, terminology and presentation.

“Dairy judging participants gain many life skills in decision-making, critical thinking, oral communication and confidence, in addition to advancing their knowledge of the dairy cattle industry,” says Leigh Ann Skurupey, North Dakota State University Extension 4-H youth development animal and equine science specialist and the contest’s organizer. 4-H is an NDSU Extension program.

Senior Division

Individual winners were:

First – Reanna Schmidt
Second – Brenna Vosberg
Third – Klaudt
Fourth – Henke
Fifth – Albers
Junior Division

The remaining top teams were:

Second – Oliver County, with team members Cameron Albers, Rylee Hintz, Kole Albers and Kelan Hintz (coach Rick Schmidt)
Third – Morton County, with team members Medora Ellingson, Stray Ressler, Stran Ressler, Sheridan Ellingson and Jada Bonogofsky (coaches Nathan Boehm and Karla Meikle)
Individual winners were:

First – Molly Hansen
Second – Lesmann
Third – Cameron Albers
Fourth – Cally Hansen
Fifth – Kruss
“This was an impressive group of 4-H dairy judgers who braved the rain to judge these beautiful animals,” Skurupey says.

The 4-H Foundation provided support for this contest.

Click here for full results from the contest

Article and photo by Ellen Crawford and NDSU Extension Service